Entertainment

Beauty & beast

Dancing

with the Stars” is in expansion mode.

The hit series started the new season with its largest cast ever — 16 celebrities — and, frankly, it’s taken three weeks for any one to stand out.

Two who have — because they are such opposites — are Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Liddell and lingerie model/actress Joanna Krupa.

Call them Beauty and the Beast of this year’s edition of “DWTS.”

What possessed you to say yes to “DWTS”?

Liddell: “I really saw it as an opportunity to show people that UFC guys are not Neanderthals or meatheads. We don’t just beat each other up on the weekends. . .we have strong personalities. I wanted to get some DWTS fans to crossover and watch our sport.”

How difficult has it been?

Krupa: “I’m used to arching my back and sticking out my buns for photo shoots. My partner Derek [Hough] has shown me ways to move my hips that I didn’t think were possible.”

Did your UFC pals torture you for the rainbow-ruffle costume you wore in week 1?

Liddell: “When they called, they really wanted to break my [bleep] but ended up congratulating me. . . . They wanted to put rhinestones all over [my head] and I was like, ‘Uh, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.’ I have to say no to some things.”

Do you think Mya and Aaron Carter have an advantage because they’re singers?

Kruppa: “I do. I mean Mya is a great performer. She has dancing and music in her blood. [Carter] too. And Donny [Osmond] has been performing for years.”

Have the judges been fair?

Liddell: “They’ve been pretty brutal . . . Len [Goodman] has ripped my technical skills, but that’s his job. I put that playful kick in my samba routine and directed it in [Goodman’s] direction to get his attention and it worked. He was hysterical laughing. I also added ‘The Carlton Dance’ from the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’

Are you sad to see Tom DeLay forced to pull out?

Liddell: “He was in serious pain. I mean he had stress fractures in both feet. Most people would sit there, whine and make excuses. But he didn’t. You could see him grimace when he was just walking around. We all felt bad for him.”